If you are a carrier company or even a truck driver for that matter, we certainly hope you are clean as a whistle with regards to drugs and alcohol. That’s because both are forced to randomly comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) mandatory drug and alcohol testing programs requirements, per 49 CFR 382.403. This is an annual random inspection for carrier companies and their drivers.

Carriers chosen by the FMCSA are required to submit their drug and alcohol test results within 60 days. Failure to comply can result in some hefty penalties.

Overview of Rules and Regulations Regarding the DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Program

Are FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Survey Results Dependable? | Denver Truck Accident Attorney

The following guidelines and rules were gathered from the FMCSA’s website:

• DOT regulations require supervisors of commercial motor vehicle drivers who operate trucks and hold a commercial driver license (CDL) to take 60 minutes of training on symptoms of controlled substance abuse/use and another 60 minutes of training on symptoms of alcohol abuse (120 minutes total).
• Those operating trailer vehicles requiring CDLs on public roadways and employ a single employee in their company are required to take DOT supervisor training.
• Single, independent owner/operators are not required to take the DOT supervisor training. However, they are required to register with an affiliate for random DOT alcohol and drug testing.
• Owners and employers must ensure that all supervisors have access to the DOT training materials.

What are Carrier Supervisors Trained to Look For?

Each truck transport supervisor that takes the DOT-required drug and alcohol training courses learns the following essentials:

• General requirements on reasonable suspicion referrals
• Alcohol abuse in the workplace
• Prohibited drugs in the workplace
• Making the call on suspected alcohol or drug abusers in the workplace

Each training session is broken down into two 60 minute sessions that involve watching training films about alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace, and then working through a workbook with true or false statements, as well as scenarios. This instruction is intended to help the supervisor build a determination as to whether an employee appears to be in violation of an alcohol or drug abuse related offense.

10 Common Mistakes Fleet Management Makes When Applying DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing

The following are some of the common mistakes fleet management and supervisors make when implementing the DOT’s drug and alcohol testing program:

• Failure to implement a drug and alcohol testing program
• Failure to define who is required to be tested
• Failure to maintain a random selection process
• Failure to send selected drivers for testing
• Using a driver before they pass pre-employment drug and alcohol testing
• Failure to suspend or reprimand drivers who fail drug and alcohol testing
• Failure to test drivers immediately following an accident
• Performing a DOT drug or alcohol test during a medical exam
• Giving drivers advance notice of drug or alcohol testing
• Failure to comply with DOT testing protocols or trying to hide errors

Companies and drivers should make a good faith effort to comply with the DOT drug and alcohol testing program, because failure to do so could results in serious fines and penalties. If implemented correctly, the FMCSA’s guidelines should establish a very trustworthy drug and alcohol program to administer.

Contact a Denver Truck Accident Attorney at Warshauer McLaughlin Law Group

Have you or a loved one been injured in a truck accident? If so, speak with our accident attorney at Warshauer McLaughlin Law Group to champion your cause. We’ll begin by performing an independent investigation, if necessary, to see if law enforcement missed anything. We’ll continue to build the strongest case possible, and eventually see if we can get a settlement or determine if the case will need to go to trial.

We can set up a free, initial consultation for you to meet with our experienced and trustworthy Denver truck accident attorney to get some initial details and find out if we are the experts you can count on to pursue justice in your legal matter. Call us today at (720) 420-9800, or send us an email using the contact form on this page. We can meet at our Denver office, or if you are still in the hospital we can come to you.

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¹“MADD and Colorado State Patrol launch annual PowerTalk 21 efforts” published in The Villager, April 2016.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently came out with its annual truck accident report for 2015, which actually shows that there was an 8 percent increase in the number of deaths from 2014 to 2015. The FMCSA in its effort to find ways to decrease truck accident fatalities has turned to cab cameras to help understand causes of truck accidents and determine how to prevent future truck accidents.

Obviously, the issue of putting cameras in the cabs of truck is a pretty controversial one. While the government thinks it’s an outstanding tool to use for studying crash causes and collecting data, there are still many truck drivers that feel it is invasion of their privacy.

Can Cab Cameras Have a Positive Impact on Trucker Safety?

Truckers Resistant to Cameras Used to Find Fault in Crashes | Denver Truck Accident Attorney

Companies finding the best success in terms of studying the truck driver behaviors and crash causes are using what is called “dual cameras” in the cab. That is where one of the cameras faces forward onto the roadway, while the second camera is positioned to face backwards towards the truck driver to capture their actions and behaviors. Here are some of the industry findings from using dual cameras in truck cabs:¹

• New Jersey-based NFI Industries has experienced lower rates of truck accident by 50 percent using dual cameras in its company trucks. NFI has also lowered its insurance rates by nearly 30 percent.
• Milwaukee-based Paper Transport Inc. has also reported having a better overall safety record after installing dual cab cameras in its trucks.
• Another Wisconsin-based company, Millis Transfer Inc., in River Falls uses dual cab cameras, and its Safety Director Dan Mills reports that they have collected very useful driver behavior and that of other motorists on the roadways.

How a Majority of Industry are Against Back-Facing Cameras

While many truck drivers see the effective usefulness of cameras in the truck cabs, many are still against it because they say it violates their privacy. On the flip side, safety experts argue that back facing cameras help get a perspective of moments before collisions, during, and after. The following are some more arguments against back-facing cameras:

• An independent study conducted by Fleet Owner website reveals that an estimated 90 percent of drivers would not sign on with a company that required a back-facing camera.
• According to the Fleet Owner study, truck drivers believe 80 percent of the accidents that occur are not the fault of the truck drivers.
• Some unions and trucker associations are also against the back facing cameras for reasons of violating trucker’s privacy.
• Currently, truck cameras are voluntary and not mandated by any regulation group. However, the FMCSA can change that based on the requirements of logging hours of operation electronically.

Contact a Denver Truck Accident Attorney with the Warshauer McLaughlin Law Group

Have you or a family member been involved in a truck-related accident? If so, you can count on the aggressive and experienced Accident Attorney with the Warshauer McLaughlin Law Group to seek the justice and the financial restitution you may deserve. Our trustworthy legal experts thoroughly investigate the facts and build solid cases, which is why we are so successful in truck-related collision litigation. We also care about our clients, so if you are hospitalized we can meet you on your terms and schedule, or even come to you.

To get a free, initial consultation, call us today at (720) 420-9800 or email us using the contact form on this page.  We are also available to our clients – 24 hours per day, 7 days per week – so that they have the personal attention their case deserves. We are located in Denver, but we’ll also take clients throughout the rest of the state as well.

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¹“Are Commercial Truck Cameras Making Roads Safer?” published on Yahoo Finance, April 2017.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_opacity="0.5" border_style="solid" padding_top="20px" padding_bottom="20px"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding="" dimension_margin="undefined" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_text]An article in the AJC notes that changes in state laws regulating tractor trailers resulted in fewer inspections and made the roads more treacherous for everyday Georgians and others driving through Georgia. Rather than requiring inspections to make sure that drivers are qualified and medically capable of driving safely on our roads, our state chose to appease the trucking companies demands for less regulations.

At the Warshauer Law Group, we can help you understand your legal rights if you or someone you love has been seriously injured or killed in a tractor-trailer truck accident.

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